Hague also said that the UK "does not accept the principle of diplomatic asylum," seemingly invalidating any protection that may have been offered to Assange by Ecuador's earlier decision to grant asylum to Assange.

"Even for those countries that recognize diplomatic asylum, it shouldn't be used for escaping regular process of the courts," he added.

The UK Foreign Office previously told Reuters that "British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden" and that they "shall carry out that obligation."

Assange is wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning about allegations of sexual assault made against him several months ago. After exhausting his options in UK court, he took refuge at Ecuador's embassy in London on June 19. He's been living and reportedly running WikiLeaks from there ever since.

To get to Ecuador, Assange would need to step on British soil or use British airspace — either of which may lead directly to his arrest by British authorities. According to Hague, the UK has made no threat to storm Ecuador's embassy in London to arrest Assange, despite circulating rumors to the contrary.

Assange believes that Sweden's extradition request is backed by the United States as a result of WikiLeaks's release of classified U.S. diplomatic cables. Hague denied any U.S. influence, saying "it is important to understand that this is not about Mr. Assange’s activities at WikiLeaks or the attitude of the United States of America. He is wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of serious sexual offences."

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said in a statement Thursday morning that Ecuador granted Assange asylum becasue "there are indications to presume that there could be political persecution" against him.

Hague's full statement is available here, while an English-language translation of Ecuador's statement on Assange can be viewed here.

UPDATE: WikiLeaks has announced Assange will make a statement "infront of the Ecuadorian embassy" Sunday at 2:00 p.m. local time. Sunday marks exactly two months since Assange first entered the embassy.

Julian Assange: His History and Story

Julian Assange

Julian Assange, 40, is an Australian-born political activist and journalist known for his controversial website WikiLeaks, which has published leaked documents that allege government and corporate misconduct. Assange fell into his career path after he was a hacker-activist in his early days.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia

Exposing the Government

From publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya to toxic waste dumping in Côte d'Ivoire, Assange has long sought to bring controversial concepts to the forefront. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five international print media partners (Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian and El País) began publishing U.S. diplomatic cables.

Beyond WikiLeaks

In addition to controversy surrounding the published documents in 2010, Assange's personal life became the center of a media uproar when he was arrested and taken into custody amid sex crime allegations. He remains a subject of a grand jury investigation in the U.S. and awaits the ruling of Britain’s Supreme Court regarding the possibility of extradition to Sweden.

Free Julian Assange Protests

The self-described “protector of victims” continues to fight extradition to Sweden before Britain’s Supreme Court. The appeal is Assange’s latest move to avoid being sent to Sweden to answer allegations of sexual crimes.

The World Tomorrow

Although Assange is under house arrest, he has hardly stayed out of the public eye. He recently completed filming episodes for his upcoming reality TV show "The World Tomorrow," which will air on Tuesday, April 17 on the Russia Today (RT) network. It was filmed over the past two months at his temporary home in England. The focus is a series of conversations with "some of the most interesting and controversial people alive in the world today."

In the Public

Court appearances and his new series aren't the only times the public has seen Assange recently. He played himself in the 500th episode of The Simpsons in February by recording his lines while under house arrest and was directed remotely. He also recently announced plans to run for a seat in the Australian Senate.

Assange, The Movie

Actor Anthony LaPaglia is expected play a detective tracking a young Assange in an upcoming film that focuses on his early days involved with Internet hacking. In the made-for-TV movie called Underground produced by Australian TV station Network Ten and set for global distribution through NBCUniversal, Assange will be played by film newcomer Alex Williams.

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